Tim CliUKlJi: A'f MAIIET SQUARE 




LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. |l 

Shelf .P5N\3 Ij 

PRESENTED BY 'i 

, 

I UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. li 

I 9—178 



I 



25c 



The 

Church at Market Square. 

Read at a meeting in the Chapel of Market Square Presby- 
terian Church, Germantown, Philadelphia, on 
Thursday Evening, November J 7, J 898, 

BY HENRY S. DOTTERER. 



REPRINTED FROM THE PERKIOMEN REGION. 



PHILADELPHIA: 
Perkiomen Publishing Co., 
1605 N. Thirteenth St. 
1899. 



44634 




FREE PRESS PRINT, 

QUAKERTOWN, PA. 



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Religious considerations held a large place in the plans of William 
Penn for the colonization of Pennsylvania. This is well known, Francis 
Daniel Pastorins, the founder of Germantown, was actuated by ideals 
equally lofty. Pathfinder, colonizer, lawgiver, magistrate, scholar, philo- 
sopher — all these Pastorius was. His genius established here a munici- 
pality upon a foundation, wise, practical, just, adequate which has 
yielded its citizens an unbroken prosperity of more than two centuries. 
But he was more. He was a Christian — pre-eminently a Christian. He 
loved his God and his neighbor. In his letters to his co-partners of the 
Frankfort Company and to his parents, his purpose of benefiting his fel- 
low-man and glorifying his God is ever kept in view. In the letter to his 
parents of March 7, 1684, after speaking of his Avork, his aims and his 
hopes for Germantown, he says : Betrachtet nun, liebwertheste Eltern, ob 
ich auff diese Weiss Gott und meinem Neben-Menschen nicht weiterepriess- 
lichere Dienste leisten moge — Consider now, parents most worthy of love, 
whether in this way I can not render praiseworthy service to God and my 
fellow-creatures. His religion was broad. He welcomed godly men of 
every faith. Under his liberal rule several denominations established 
themselves soon after the founding of the town. From that day to this, 
Germantown has been noted for the religious bearing of its people and the 
number and prosperity of its churches. 

Of the Churches which then took root here, one is now extinct. It is 
the Reformed Church. Concerning this ©nee prominent but now almost 
forgotten factor in Germantown' s religious history, it is my purpose to 
speak. And I will ask your patient attention to some facts that I have 
grouped — some of them, familiar to you ; others, discovered by me in the 
course of a three-months' rummage in the archives of the Reformed 
Church of the Netherlands, (Hollands) where they had been buried for a 
century and a half and longer. These facts deal with the beginnings of 
the Reformed congregation having its house of worship on Market Square, 
the vicissitudes attending the infant church, an allusion to its subsequent 
prosperity, and a reference tc^its transformations later into a full-fledged 
Presbyterian church. 

ORIGIN OF THE REFORMED CHURCH. 

The Reformed Church, let me premise, had its origin in the great up- 
rising in the Sixteenth century against the Romish hierarchy. Ulric 
Zwingli, Swiss Reformer and patriot, at Zurich ; John Calvin, French 



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Protestant, at Geneva ; Guillaume Farel, Reformer at Neuchatel ; Admiral 
de Coligny, leader of the Huguenots ; William the Silent, Prince of 
Orange, founder of the Dutch Republic ; Frederick the Pious, Elector of 
the Palatinate — names that shine with fixed and lustrious light in his- 
tory — are a few of the heroes and martyrs of that Protestantism which 
became the Reformed Church of Germany, Switzerland, Holland and 
France, 

THE REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA. 

This historic Church was brought to America by the Hollanders who 
settled Manhattan island in 1623. Forty-four years before Penn established 
his government on these shores, a Reformed Churchman, Peter Minuit, 
inaugurated a colonial enterprise on the banks of the Delaware river. He 
was the first governor of New Amsterdam (now New York). Afterwards 
he entered the service of the Government of Sweden, which sent him to 
found a colony on the South or Delaware river, which he did in 1638. This 
Swedish settlement, and others made subsequently, Penn found here upon 
his arrival. Peter Minuit was born in the city of Wesel on the Rhine, 
and was an officer in the Reformed Church there. 

There are traces of immigrants of the Reformed denomination in this 
locality prior to the coming of Penn. There is a tradition among the 
members of the widely-dispersed Reiff family, that John George Reiff, 
their ancestor, came to Pennsylvania before Penn set up his government. 
Jacob Reiff, a son of John Reiff, was prominent in the establishment of 
the Reformed church in Skippack in 1727, and had important relations 
with the Skippack and Philadelphia congregations afterwards. He occu- 
pied responsible public office under the provincial government. 

THE BEHAGELS. 

Reformed Churchmen became interested at its inception in the scheme 
which led to the settlement of Germantown. Among the original asso- 
ciates of the Frankfort Company was Daniel Behagel, Avho was of Hugue- 
not or Walloon stock. In 1562, Jacob Behagel, his grandfather, a victim 
of the persecutions of the Reformed, fled from the neighborhood of Lille, 
taking refuge in the vicinity of Frankfort on the Main. Daniel Behagel 
was born November 18, 1625, ifl Hanau, Germany, and married. May 20, 
1654, at Miihlheim near Cologne, Magdalena von Mastricht. Jacob von 
der Wallen, another original purchaser, was a brother-in-law of Daniel 
Behagel. In 1655, Jacob von der Wallen, from Rotterdam, and Johanna 
Behagel, a step-sister to Daniel Behagel, were married. In 1661, Daniel 
Behagel and Jacob von der Wallen applied to the councils of Frankfort on 
the Main and of Hanau, for permission to establish the manufacture of 
faience, and four days later Hanau granted their request. Their produc- 
tions found high favor. To this day, the name Behagel is identified with 



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5 



the porcelain business in Frankfort Von Mastricht was the surname of 
Daniel Behagel' s wife, and Dr. Gerhard von Mastricht was another partner 
of the Frankfort Company. In 1730 and later Isaac and Carl Behagel, 
merchants and bankers of Frankfort, were designated to receive moneys 
contributed in Germany and Holland for the use of the needy Reformed 
churches in Pennsylvania. An estimate of the high standing of this 
family may be formed from the record of its acknowledged loyalty and 
services to the reigning sovereigns. In 1697, Isaac Behagel was decorated 
with a gold medal and gold chain, by William the Third, King of Great 
Britain, and their High Mightinesses the Stadtholders of the United 
Netherlands, for services rendered in the war from 1688 to 1697 ; and 
February 26, 1706, he was similarly honored by Frederick L , King of 
Prussia,' with two gold medals — one commemorating the capture of 
Gueldres (Gelders) from the Dutch in 1702, the other for services rendered 
in 1705 in connection with the obsequies of Sophia Charlotte, Queen of 
Prussia, sister of George I. , of England, a lady noted for her Hterary and 
philosophical tastes. 

ISAAC DILBECK. 

Isaac Dilbeck, who came in the same ship with Pastorius, and who 
was one of the original dAvellers in Germantown, was of the Reformed 
faith. . He was in the em23loy of the Frankfort Company. The ship 
America, in which he came, it will be remembered, reached Philadelphia 
before that which brought the Crefeld immigrants, who were the main 
body of original settlers of Gemiantown. It sailed from Deal, England, 
on the 10th of June, 1683, and was ten weeks in making the passage. 
On the 16th of August, 1683, its passengers first descried America, on the 
18th they arrived in Delaware bay, and at twilight on the evening of the 
20th, they reached the town of Philadelphia. Pastorius, in his letter to 
his parents dated March 7, 1684, which I found in Switzerland and which 
I have not met with on this side of the Atlantic, says : "Isaac Dilbeck, 
who apparently was the strongest in the company, was down (with sea- 
sickness) the longest." And in another part of the same letter he says : 
"Isaac Dilbeck has been somewhat indisposed the past eight days." 
Dilbeck was a weaver. He soon became a landowner in Germantown. 
On the 27th of Third month (May), 1686, Francis Daniel Pastorius, as 
attorney and partner of the Frankfort Company, in fulfillment of the 
contract between Dilbeck and the Company, conveyed to Isaac Dilbeck, 
twenty-five acres of land in Germantown — twenty-acres mthin the 
inhabited part of the town and five acres in the side land (including a 
half town-lot), both bounded southeasterly by lands of Paul Kastner and 
northwesterly by lands of Francis Daniel Pastorius, the twenty acres hav- 
ing a breadth of 7 perches 2 feet, the five acres a breadth of 3 perches 12 
feet. It was subject to a yearty rent of a piece of eight or one Reichsthaler, 
payable, on first day of First month (March) of each year, to the Frank- 



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fort Company. There was another condition attached which is notable for 
its moderateness : ' 'In addition, Isaac Dilbeck promises for himself, and 
his posterity who may be inclined to work ]:)y the day, to work for om^ 
Frankfort Company in preference to all others for the same wages that they 
can earn from anyone else." ["Anbey verspricht Isaac Dilbeck vor sich 
und sein posteritiit dass wofern dieselbe geneigt seyen wiirde imib taglohn 
zu arbeiten, sie vor alien anderen nnserer Frankfnrt Cie wercken woUen vor 
dergleichen lohn welchen sie by jemand anders verdienen konnten."] 

Isaac Dilbeck' s half lot was on the east side of Germantown road. 
In a list made April 4, 1687, it was nnmbered 15, his neighbors being 
Cornelius Bom, No. 14. and Enneke Klosterman, No. 16. The lot out of 
which Market Square was afterwards taken was No. 10. Isaac Dill:>eck 
participated in the initial labors of planting the new town. He took kindly 
to the new life in these primitive wilds. He was a model colonist. His 
wife was Mary Blomerse. They were married in Europe, and they brought 
with them to this land their two sons, Abraham and Jacob. On the 7th 
of Third month, 1691, he was naturalized. On the first day of the Fifth 
month, 1696, Isaac Dilbeck, with the consent of Maria, his wife, sold the 
25 acres of land to Daniel Geisler, for £12 14s. current silver money of 
Pennsylvania, subject to the original quit rent. Evidently he preferred the 
activities of a large farm. On the 8th of Fel)ruary, 1700, he purchased 
of George Keith five hundred acres of land in the adjacent township of 
Whitemarsh, on the Plymouth road. On the 28th of September, 1709, 
Isaac Dilbeck and Jacob Dilbeck, whom we take to have been the pioneer' s 
sons, were naturalized by act of the Assembly of Pennsylvania. In the 
year 1710, Isaac Dilbeck and his wife, Mary Blomerse, were members of 
the Whitemarsh Reformed congregation, organized by Paulus Van Vlecq, 
the Dutch minister at Neshaminy. He was the junior elder. In 1728 he 
was an officer of the German Reformed congregation at Whitemarsh under 
the pastoral care of John Philip Boehm. 

In this connection it may be of interest to read a few more paragraphs 
from the above-quoted letter of Pastorius to his parents. It is written in 
the familiar terms of a dutiful son in a ' 'far country. ' ' It is dated from 
Philadelphia, although Germantown had been previously laid out by 
Pastorius and settled by the pioneer colonists. Speaking of the ocean 
trip, he says : "The religious beliefs of the passengers, and their voca- 
tions, were so varied that the ship might be compared to Noah's ark. * * 
1 brought with me four men servants, two women servants, two children 
and one apprentice. Among these were adherents of the Romish, the 
Lutheran, the Calvanistic (Reformed), the Anabaptist, and the English 
Churches, and only one Quaker. * * * Laborers and farmers are needed 
most, and I heartily Avish for a dozen sturdy Tyrolese to fell the mighty 
oaks, for whichever way one turns it is : Itur in antiquam sylvam, every- 
thing is forest. " * * ^ He speaks of the fruits and nuts found in the 



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7 



forests, and continues: "On the 16th of October I found pretty March 
violets in the woods. Also, after I had laid out the town of Germantown 
on the 24th of October, and w^hen returning the day following, the 25th, 
with seven others to this place, (Philadelphia) we saw on the way, cling- 
ing to a tree a wild grape vine upon which hung about four hundred 
bunches of grapes. To get the grapes we cut down the tree, and the 
eight of us ate as many as satisfied us, after which each of us brought a hat 
full home with us. * ^ * Two leagues from here lies our Germantown, 
where already dwell forty-two persons in twelve families, who are mostly 
linen weavers, unaccustomed to husbandry. * * * The path to German- 
town has by frequent going to and fro been so thoroughly beaten that a 
road has been formed. ' ' This sentence seems to explain the cause of the 
eccentric lines of our Germantown Road : the plain first citizens of Pas- 
torius's budding Germanopolis attending to their simple errands in . the 
neighboring city, were the unconscious engineers of the historic highway. 

WILLIAM DEWEES. 

Another Reformed Churchman prominently identified with early Ger- 
mantown was ^^^illiam Dewees. He came from Leeuwarden, province of 
Friesland, in Holland, about the year 1689, landing at New York with 
others of his family. He was then a})out thirteen. His sister, Wilhelmina 
Dewees, and Nicholas Rittenhouse were married by the pastor of the 
Dutch Reformed church of New Amsterdam, or New York, on the 29th 
of May, 1689. Nicholas Rittenhouse prior to this had located at South 
river (as the Dutch called the Delaware river countr}^, and soon after 
the marriage the Deweeses came over from New York to Germantown. 
William Dewees learned the trade of paper maker, doubtless from the 
Rittenhouses who were the pioneers in the manufacture of paper in 
America. His wife was Anna Christina Meels. March 1, 1690, Gerrit 
Hendricks DeWees bought a full lot of land fronting on the Main street in 
the inhabited part of Germantown, containing thirty-eight acres, and ad- 
jacent land towards Plymouth, containing twelve acres. April 18, 1701, 
Zyntien DeWees, his widow, sold haK of this lot and adjacent land to John 
Conrad Codweis, who sold it February 10, 1703, to William DeWees, who 
held it until 22d of 11th month, (January) 1706, when he conveyed it 
to Conrad Rutters. In these transactions he is styled a husbandman. 
December 23, 1701, the attorney of the widow of Gerrit Hendricks 
DeWees sold the remaining half of the purchase made by her husband, to 
John Henry Mehls. Whether Gerret Hendricks DeWees and Zyntien his 
wife were the parents of William DeWees has not been definitely ascer- 
tained; the archives at Leeuwarden may be required to determine this 
point. In 1708 William Dewees bought land in Bebber's (afterwards Skip- 
pack) township, but he did not live upon it. In 1710, he erected the 
second paper mill in America, on the west side of the Wissahickon, in that 
part of Germantown called Crefeld. He built one or more grist mills, and 



8 



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owned and sold lands, mills and dwellings in Crefeld prior to 1725. 
William Dewees, as also his wife, was a member of the Whitemarsh 
Reformed congregation, organized by Panlus VanVlecq in 1710, and he 
was chosen senior deacon at the same time. They brought their children 
to the dominie for baptism. 

It is recorded that some of the pions colonists of early Germantown 
scrupled at the assumption of public office, and paid penalties for non- 
performance of such service in preference to doing violence to the dictates 
of their consciences. William Dewees was a man of a different stamp. 
In his veins flowed the blood of that people who suffered the tortures of 
the inquisition and who made indescribable sacrifices for the Reformed 
religion w^hich the arms of proud Spain, then powerful now humiliated, 
sought to wrest from them. There were no battles to fight in peaceful 
Germantown; the mild government of Penn, administered in brotherly 
kindness by Pastorius, precluded that. But Dewees readily answered 
every call to public duties. Note some of the contracts and positions 
taken by him : 

December 3, 1703, the Council of Germantown resolved that as 
speedily as possible a prison (Gefangenhaus) be built, and an agreement 
was made with William de Wees to cut 600 feet of lumber for this pur- 
pose at eleven shillings per hundred. December 31, 1703, it was resolved, 
further, that, beside the prison, stocks and a cattle pound should be 
erected. William de Wees undertook to put up the pound, under minute 
stipulations as to number and quality of posts and rails, their length and 
form. On sixth of 11th month (January) 1703-4, it was resolved that 
the prison, stocks, and pound be built in the market place. October 14, 
1704, William de Wees was chosen Sheriff. December 1, 1704, the duties 
of court crier and court messenger were added to that of the shrievalty. 
20th of 12th mo. (Fel^ruar}^) he was appointed fence inspector of his 
district. November 23, 1705, a committee was directed to audit his ac- 
counts, w^hich were evidentl}^ found correct, for on December 18, follow- 
ing, he was re-appointed sheriff and fence inspector. On the 23rd of 5th 
month (April) the Court required him to furnish a bond for the faithful 
performance of the duties of the office of Sheriff; and he was directed to 
call in all taxes in arrears before the next session of the Court, and to sue 
those who would not pay. December 4, 1706, he was chosen one of the 
Council (composed of six men) of Germantown. Here you have the 
record of a faithful public official. 

For twenty years, from 1725 until his death, the Whitemarsh Re- 
formed congregation, John Philip Bcehm, pastor, used the house of 
William Dewees for its place of worship. He was an officer in the church 
all these years. The house used by this congregation, at least the latter 
part of the time, stands opposite St. Joseph's convent, close to the Wissa- 
hickon, at the farther end of the Germantown and Perkiomen turnpike 



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9 



bridge over the stream. William Dewees died March 3, 1745. His body 
rests in the Upper (or Axe) bmying-gromid. 

Cornelius Dewees and Garret Dewees, relatives (possibly brothers) of 
William Dewees, and men of similar character, also located at or near 
Germantown. Cornelius Dewees and Margaret Koster, his wife, brought 
their son John Dewees for baptism to Dominie Van Vlecq at Skippack on 
the 29th of May, 1710. Cornelius Dewees performed various public 
services at Germantown. November 23, 1704, he was chosen constable 
for the period of one year, or until a successor should be appointed; and 
on December 1, 1705, he was appointed, in addition to the constableship, 
to the office of court crier and messenger of the council. 

James de la Plaine came to Germantown from New York about the 
year 1692. The de la Plaines were French Reformed people, otherwise 
called Huguenots. 

Evert Ten Heuven (otherwise In den Hof!, Im Hoff, now Dehaven) 
came in 1698 from Miihlheim on the Ruhr, bringing his family. He was 
of the Reformed Church, and was ordained senior elder of the White- 
marsh Reformed congregation on the 4th of June, 1710, the day of its 
organization. His wife was Elizal^eth Schipbouwer. The Dehavens 
afterwards located on the Skippack. 

Hendrick Pannebecker lived in Germantown at least as early as 1699. 
He left Germantown in 1702 and settled at Skippack. His wife was Eva 
Umstead. On the 29th of May, 1710, they brought their three children, 
Adolph, Martha, and Peter, to Pastor Van Vlecq for baptism. Hendrick 
Pannel)ecker was the ancestor of our learned friend. Judge Pennypacker. 
He was a surveyor, and in that capacity much in the service of the Penn- 
sylvania Provincial government. He was a large landholder. He ren- 
dered invaluable assistance to the immigrant colonists in securing for 
them lands adapted to their particular wants, in suitable localities. Thus 
he was a benefactor to that great influx of eager emigrants from the Conti- 
nent of Europe — from Holland, Germany, Switzerland and France — who 
carried irresistibly forward the work of subduing the forests, clearing the 
land, cultivating the soil, and evolving the prosperity of the Province. 

Hans Hendrick Meels (John Henry Mehls) on the 23rd of December, 
1701, bought a half lot on the main street in the inhabited part of Ger- 
mantown, containing nineteen acres and six acres of side land, from the 
widow Zyntien Dewees, whose husband, Gerrit Hendricks Dewees, had 
purchased the whole lot on the first of March, 1690. He was Reformed. 
In June, 1701, John Henry Mehls was chosen Recorder of Germantown. 

John Revenstock came in 1702. He anciently owned Lot No. 2, 
containing two hundred acres, in the Sommerhausen division of German- 
town. He was a member of Pastor Van Vlecq' s Whitemarsh Reformed 
congregation in the year 1711. In July, 1728, he was an officer of John 



10 



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Philip Boehm's Whitemarsh congregation, which worshipped at the house 
of Wilham Dewees, on the Wissahickon. 

REV, SAMUEL C41TLDIN. 

In the year 1710 a strong character was added to Germantown's Re- 
formed contingent. That year Samuel Guldin, a minister of the Reformed 
Church of Switzerland, came to Pennsylvania. He was born in the city 
of Berne. He first preached in the neighborhood of Berne, but his repu- 
tation as a forcible pulpit speaker led to his election as associate pastor of 
the minister of Berne, and subsequently he became the minister of the 
three chief churches of the city. His fervid presentation of Christian 
truth gave offence to his ecclesiastical superiors. He was accused of 
Pietism, and in 1699 declared guilty of the charge. He was then rele- 
gated to the pastorate of an inferior and obscure congregation outside of 
Berne. On the 16th of January, 1710 (probably 17Tf), then a resident 
of Roxborough township, he bought 275 acres of land located along Wissa- 
hickon creek. Residing so near Germantown, and sometimes in the 
the town, he became intimately acquainted with his Reformed brethren 
here, and as would be expected he preached to them occasionally. After 
his coming to Pennsylvania he issued three pamphlets. The first of 
these, dated 1718, entitled Kurtze Apologie, is a self-vindication of his 
course at Berne; the second, also in 1718, is a short Guide with Contrasts 
for the explanation and defence of Divine Truth; the third, in 1743, was 
an argument in opposition to the coalescence of the several religious de- 
nominations as proposed by Count Zinzendorf and his friends in Pennsyl- 
vania at that time. In the first and last of these publications he repre- 
sents himself as former preacher in the three principal churches of Berne, 
in Switzerland. Guldin was possessed of a considerable estate. Besides 
his Roxborough property, he owned land in Ole}", and personal property 
as well. He has been heretofore regarded as one of the original settlers of 
Oley, a fertile region in the present Berks county, but recent investigation 
indicates that he never lived there, and that his son of the same name was 
the Oley pioneer. The Rev. Samuel Guldin died in Philadelphia on the 
last day of the year 1745, aged eighty-five. He left a curious paper in- 
tended for his last will and testament, a medley of business directions and 
pious admonitions, a mixture of English and German and Latin. His 
purpose was to dispose judiciously of his considerable means, remember- 
ing old friends, designating laudable benevolent interests, and caring 
appropriately for his immediate family. But the paper having not been 
executed was inoperative. 

Thus we see there was a steady, although small, stream of incoming- 
colonists of the Reformed faith, who located in and about Germantown in 
the earlier years of the Province. The great rush of the Palatines came 
later. What opportunities had these primitive settlers to worship after 



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11 



the manner of their fathers in Germany, Holland, Switzerland, and 
France? Prior to 1710 we know of no clergymen of their faith in the 
Province. It may be, however, that upon occasion one or another of the 
Reformed dominies at Manhattan Island penetrated southward through 
the wilderness — such is, and always has been, the indomitable missionary 
spirit of the Holland Church — to bring the Word to his fellow Chris- 
tians at Germantown. If any did, there was an open door for him 
here. There was built as early as 1686 a house of worship for the com- 
mon use of the people. Pastorius, in one of his letters to Europe, says: 
"Wir haben allhier zu Germantown Ann. 1686 ein Kirchlein fiir die 
Gemeinde gebauet" — We built here in Germantown in the year 1686 a 
small church for the community. It was built for the Gemeinde — the 
community. Gemeinde, it is true, is in America usually understood to 
mean a religious society or congregation. But in Germany the word 
means primarily a political district, comprising in its limits a State church. 
A Gemeinde there comprehends all the inhabitants of the district, irre- 
spective of their church connection. The government of Germantown 
was set up, by special permission of Penn, upon the lines then and still 
in vogue in the villages, or dorfs, of Germany. So it happened that 
Pastorius caused the erection of a Kirchlein fiir die Gemeinde — a small 
church not for any particular denomination, there being no State church 
in Pennsylvania, but for the use of the community in general. 

In the course of time the Reformed people of Germantown crystallized 
into a congregation. On the 20th of May, in the year of Our Lord Jesus 
Christ 1710, says a cotemporary record, Mr. Paulus Van Vlecq was in- 
stalled pastor of the Church of Jesus Christ at Shamminie, Bensalem, and 
Jermantown, and the neighboring villages. A congregation was organized 
b}^ this minister, to meet the needs of the Germantown people, on the 4th 
of June, 1710, under the name of the Whitemarsh church, with Hans 
Hendrick Meels as senior elder, Evert Ten Heuven junior elder, and 
Isaac Dilbeck senior deacon. On the 25th of December, 1710, the officers 
installed Avere: Evert Ten Heuven, senior elder; Isaac Dilbeck, junior 
elder; William Dewees, senior deacon; and Jan Aweeg, junior deacon. 
On the same day, Christmas, 1710, Sibes Bartels and Marytje Hendricks 
his wife, and Kasper Staels, were admitted to membership upon pro- 
fession of faith. The recorded members of the congregation in 1711 were: 
Hans Hendrick Meels, Isaac Dilbeck, Jan Aweeg, Antonie Geert Yerkes, 
Geertruij Reinbergh, Marritje Blomerse, wife of Isaac Dilbeck, Catrina 
(Christina?) Meels, wife of William Dewees, Annchen Barents, wife of 
J. Pieterse, Maria Selle, wife of Gerret Ten Heuven, Evert Ten Heuven, 
Johannis Jodden, Johannis Revenstock, Geertrui Aweeg, Elizabeth 
Schipbouwer, Avife of Evert Ten Heuven, Elsje Schol, Sibillae Revenstock, 
wife of Hendrick Tibben, Margaret Bon, wife of Kasper Staels. Pastor 
Van Vlecq' s ministry apparently ended here in 1712. 



12 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



About the year 1720, John Phihp Boehm, a parochial schoohnaster, 
then just arrived from the Palatinate of the Rhine, began to hold religious 
meetings among the Reformed settlers at Whitemarsh and elsewhere. On 
the 23rd of December, 1725, he administered the communion to twenty- 
four persons of the congregation which he had previously organized at the 
house of William Dewees, who then lived in the Crefeld district, on the 
Wissahickon, This congregation maintained an existence until 1745. 

In 1727, George Michael Weiss, a regularly ordained Reformed min- 
ister, a graduate from Heidelberg, Avas chosen pastor o' the Reformed 
congregation then organized in Philadelphia. Abouu the same time he 
was placed over the High Dutch church at Germantown. On the 24th of 
November, 1729, he Avas more specifically placed in charge of the Phila- 
delphia and Germantown congregations by the ministers of the Dutch 
Reformed Church of New York city. Pastor Weiss then and there de- 
clared his desire to become subordinate to the Classis of Amsterdam, and 
promised to endeavor to bring his Germantown and Philadelphia congre- 
gations into similar relations. At the same meeting the New York minis- 
ters engaged to urge the Amsterdam Classis to send over whatever moneys 
had been collected in Europe in behalf of the congregations of Mr. Weiss 
at Germantown and Philadelphia. 

Weiss went to Holland the following S})ring in quest of funds for the 
churches, but when he returned to America he did not resume the pastor- 
ate at Germantown and Philadelphia, but preached in the Province of 
New York for some years, and then came back to Pennsylvania, engaging 
in pastoral labors in the interior. 

.JOHN BECHTEL. 

In 1726, John Bechtel, a native of Weinheim, about twenty miles 
north of Heidelberg, came to Germantown. ''Reared in the German 
Reformed Church, and being an earnest, pious man, two years after he 
settled in Germantown," according to John W. Jordan, of the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania, "he began to hold religious meetings for his 
Reformed brethren in the town, and was instrumental in doing much good 
prior to the arrival of Schlatter and the organization of a Synod. At first 
he kept these meetings in his own house, not only on Sundays, but every 
morning and evening on week-days. The congregation which he gathered 
built a small church on Market Square, and in 1733 he was given a call 
as pastor, and a license to preach was sent him from Heidelberg Univer- 
sity. * * * He was not ordained, however, until April 18, 1742, and 
then by Bishop Nitschman of the Moravian Church. ' ' What place of 
worship the Reformed people of Germantown had prior to the building of 
the church referred to by Mr. Jordan is not at present clear. The pains- 
taking and exceedingly thorough editors of the English edition of the 
Halle Reports — Rev. Dr. Schmucker and Rev. Dr. Mann — say the corner- 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



13 



stone of a Reformed church was laid here m 1719 by the Swedish pastor. 
However this may be, as late as January 9, 1733, in a list of church 
edifices in Germantown reported by Arent Hassert, Jr., a native of Hol- 
land, but long a resident of Philadelphia, no mention is made of a Re- 
formed church. He wrote: Germantown is six English miles from 
Philadelphia. It has a large Quaker meeting house (the name by which 
the Quaker churches are called), a High German Mennonite church, and 
a similar one in which the Crefeld or broken Hollandish is used. Has- 
sert' s report was made at the request of the Synods of South and North 
Holland and is preserved at The Hague. 

We come now to the first purchase of land on Market Square for a 
church. It was a lot containing one-eighth of an acre of ground. It was 
conve^^ed on the 8th of November, 1732, by Henry Frederick, of German- 
town, carpenter, and Anna Barbara, his wife, to John Bechtel, turner, 
Christopher Meng, mason, Jacob Bauman, carpenter, and George Bensel, 
yeoman, in trust for the Reformed congregation. In the trust deed made 
by these persons, on the 9th of November, 1732, it is recited that "said 
land and premises were so as aforesaid conveyed unto us by the direction 
and appointment of the inhabitants of Germantown aforesaid belonging to 
the High Dutch Reformed Congregation ... in Trust to the intent only 
that we, or such or so many of us as shall be and continue in unity and 
religious fellowship with the said High Dutch Reformed congregation, and 
remain members of the same . . . shall hold it for the benefit, use and 
behoof of the said congregation forever and for a place to erect a meeting 
house for the use and service of the said congregation. ' ' The description 
of the lot was as follows: Beginning at a stone set for a corner (by the 
Germantown Market Place), being also a corner of Nicholas Delaplaine's 
land, thence by the same northeast eight perches and four foot to a stone 
set for a corner, thence southeast two perches and seven foot to a stone set 
for a corner by land late of John Midwinter, thence by the same south- 
west eight perches and four foot to a stone set for a corner by the said 
Market Place, thence by the same northwest two perches and seven foot, 
to the place of beginning. 

The land purchased was part of lot No. 10, on the main street in the 
original plan of the town. On the 18th of Sixth month (August), 1689, 
Francis Daniel Pastorius, partner and attorney of the Frankfort Company, 
deeded fifty acres to Dirk op den Kolck, in compensation for work done 
in Germantown under a contract March 23rd, 1685, for Thomas Von 
Willich and Johannes le Brun, partners in said company. By the terms 
of this contract Op den Kolck was to work for his employers one day of 
each week for the period of four years. Op den Kolck, by deed poll 
dated and acknowledged the 6th of Third month, 1691, transferred this 
tract of fifty acres to James de la Plaine. It is described as bounded 
along the Mill street and Wolter Simon' s land on the one side and with 



14 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET. SQUARE. 



the lot of Wigart Levering on the other side. On the 6th of Eleventh 
month (January), 1701, James Delaplaine sold to the Baihff, Burgess and 
Commonalty of Germantown, one-half acre for a market place. It had a 
front of fourteen perches on the main street, and a depth of five and three- 
quarters perches. May 30, 1723, James Delaplaine and Hannah, his 
wife, conveyed seventeen and a quarter acres of his land, part of the fifty 
acres, to John Midwinter. April 26, 1727, John Midwinter and Sarah, 
his wife, granted to Henr}^ Frederick a half quarter of an acre, part of the 
seventeen and a quarter acres. This one-half quarter acre, Ave have seen, 
was purchased for the Reformed congregation in 1732. 

The following year, 1733, a house of worship was erected upon the 
lot. It was well built of stone, and of good capacity. Rev. John Philip 
Boehm, in a communication addressed to the Holland Church authorities, 
in 1739, describes it as "Eine wohlgebaute, ziemlich grosse Kirch, von 
Steinen. ' ' 

In 1733, Rev. John Bartholomew Rieger preached in Germantown. 
We do not understand that John Bechtel had any relations with the 
congregation at this time other than as lay member and voluntary leader 
of meetings of its members. Under date of March 4, 1733, (unless this 
is 1731, it must have been before the new church was built) the consistory 
of the Philadelphia Reformed congregation wrote a letter to Holland, in 
which is this statement: The Skippack, Germantown and Philadelphia 
congregations have a minister — Bartholomew Rieger — Avho came a year 
and a half ago to take the place of Dominie Weiss. He preaches on one 
Sunday at Skippack, the second at Germantown, and the third at Phila- 
delphia. Mr. Bartholomew also attached his signature to his letter thus: 

Joh : Barth : Rieger, Verbi divini 

Minister Eccles: ad V. D. Reformatorium 
quix Christo Philadelph : Germantomi : 
et Colliguntur. 

In 1734, the year following the construction of the church, the con- 
gregation numbered thirty members. So Mr. Boehm advised Holland, 
on the authority of figures received from two of the elders, Meng and 
Bensel. In October of the same year Boehm characterizes Germantown 
as a place possessing many advantages — "een seer voordelige plaats." It 
appears that Rieger had now left Philadelphia and Germantown. In the 
same letter, upon request. Pastor Boehm points out to the Synod of South 
and North Holland how four additional pastors could be usefully placed 
in Pennsylvania. Among his suggestions was this: One minister to take 
charge of the Philadelphia and Germantown congregations, and in con- 
nection with the latter the Whitemarsh congregation could be served, as it 
was but four English miles away. 

It may be proper to explain at this point the reason for the activity 
of Rev. Mr. Boehm in the affairs of the Germantown congregation of 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



15 



which he was not, and had not been, so far as we are advised, at any 
time pastor. From the year 1729 the Reformed churches of Pennsyl- 
vania generally, few in number it is true, were subordinate to the Holland 
Church authorities. A year or two before this date the Synods of South 
and North Holland began to contribute money for the sustentation and 
advancement of these Pennsylvania congregations. The Hollanders were 
able and eager to supply the men and the money necessary for the up- 
building of the Church. They went about this matter in a methodical 
way. Their first step was to find out Avhere the congregations were, what 
others could be judiciously organized, and how much money each would 
undertake to contribute for the support of its pastor. The Hollanders 
tried several means to obtain the required information, but without suc- 
cess. They then applied to Mr. Boehm for help in thi-s respect. He had 
been here for about ten years, was well acquainted with the condition of 
affairs, and proceeded energetically to supply detailed statistics and facts. 
When sufficiently informed they sent over the needed ministers, Bibles, 
books for parochial schools, and money to build churches and pay school- 
masters. In 1793 these relations between the Holland and Pennsylvania 
churches ceased. A great debt of gratitude is due to noble Holland — an 
obligation hardly acknowledged — for its unstinted liberality to the Penn- 
sylvania Reformed congregations for a period of nearly sixty-five years. 

An idea of the confused state of the affairs of the Market Square 
church in 1738 may be gathered from the advices sent from Pennsylvania 
March 1, 1738, by Rev. Mr. Dorsius, sent from Holland for the special 
purpose of examining and reporting upon the state of the several Penn- 
sylvania churches, who wrote: At Germantown, six English miles distant 
from Philadelphia, is a fine church but a miserable minister, a Quaker- 
inclined weaver, who performs all the work of a minister there, although 
not authorized to do so. (Tot Germantown ... is well een fraai kerk 
maar een ellendingen leeraar, een quaker-gezinden wever die daar alle het 
werk van eenen leeraar verrigt zonder daartoe geregtigt te zyn. ) 

A glimpse of the condition of the congregation in 1740 was obtained 
by me in the Church archives at The Hague, in a report made, at the 
rec^uest of the Holland church people for a statement of the sum the 
congregation felt able to pay towards a pastor's salary. The response to 
the inquiry was, translated from the German, as follows: 

Owing to dissensions caused by all kinds of sectarian persons the 
Germantown church is in a very pitiable condition. However, if the 
Germantown and Whitemarsh congregations can be united. Ten Pounds 
Pennsylvania money can be collected annually for a pastor's salarj^ 
Signed as members of the congregation, by 

Jacob Baumann, 

Germandon, 18th March, 1740. Johann Nicklaus Rausch. 

The year 1742 was the most turbulent in the annals of Market Square 
church. On the 24th of November, 1741, Count Zinzendorf came to 



16 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



Philadelphia, having as one of his purposes a scheme to unite the leading 
men of the several denominations in Pennsylvania, especially the Ger- 
mans, for evangelical work. John Bechtel at once entered heartily into 
the movement. Henry Antes, a prominent Reformed churchman, issued 
a call for the first meeting in furtherance of this object to be held in Ger- 
mantown on New Year's Day, 1742. Market Square Reformed church 
was now the storm centre. John Philip Boehm, Avho appears to have at 
this time been nominal pastor here, in connection with his pastorate of 
Philadelphia and other congregations, vehemently opposed the project of 
the Count from the outset. But Bechtel and those of his way of thinking 
were in control. On the 31st of December, 1741, the Count was invited 
to preach in the church, and he did so. But of course contrary to the 
wishes of Boehm. The fifth conference of the representatives of the Zin- 
zendorfian movement was held, April 17-20, 1742, jn this church. On 
Sunday, April 18, 1742, Bishop Nitschman consecrated Bechtel to the 
ofiice of inspector, overseer, and teacher, over the Reformed })reachers in 
Pennsylvania. [Fresenius Nachrichten, Dritter Band, Frankfurt und 
Leipzig, 1748, p. 183.] On the second day of Easter, the same year, 
according to Boehm, Bechtel arranged to administer the connn union to the 
members of the church, and some accepted it from him. Count Zinzen- 
dorf came to Germantown on New Year's eve (December 31, 1742), and 
preached in the Reformed church. Nine days later he sailed from New 
York for Europe. In the course of the year 1742, the aims of the Count 
and his friends were greatly modified. The establishment of the Moravian 
Church in Peimsylvania was the outcome of their efforts. Mr. Bechtel' s 
connection with the Reformed Church of Germantown terminated in 
1744. In 1746 he removed to Bethlehem, and there performed respon- 
sible duties for the Moravians. Mr. Bcjehm's influence at Germantown 
now became stronger. The congregation now^ accepted the ordinances of 
the Holland Church, which under Mr. Bechtel' s ministrations it had 
refused to do. 

A graphic recital of doings at our first Market Square church during 
its early years is given in another manuscript preserved in the archives at 
The Hague. It was forwarded to the Holland Church Fathers b}^ John 
Philip Boehm in 1744. Its writer had strong prejudices, for which allow- 
ance must be made. Divested of its sharp strictures on Bo^hm's oppo- 
nents, the narrative runs substantially as follows: 

As to the congregation at Germantown: It is true, they built a hand- 
some stone church, many years ago, for which they are still considerably 
in debt; but against our admonitions, warnings and protestations they 
have continually permitted the believers of all kinds of erroneous views 
to become associated with them. Bartholomew Rieger, while pastor at 
Philadelphia, preached for them a short time. When he left them they 
permitted John Bechtel to preach regularly in their church. So also did 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



17 



the aged Samuel Gulden, who accordmg to his own printed writings was 
formerly minister of the three principal churches of Berne in Switzerland, 
but on account of his Pietism was forced to leave, and then came to this 
country. At this time he resides in Germantown and much of the time 
he preaches in their church. At the same time they allow a sectarian 
crowd to assemble therein every Sunday afternoon. Among these people 
is one of the Inspired, another a Pietist, a Separatist — persons of all the 
denominations known here. These meet in the church, select a subject 
from the Bible, and then discuss it. The public calls these persons dis- 
putants; but they call themselves the free assembly. At other times they 
allowed Count Zinzendorf and his Moravians to occupy the church and 
the Count to preach therein. And John Bechtel, the turner, was one of 
the Count's most willing lieutenants. But because the Count became 
involved in a difficulty with the Separatists, who pressed him too hard, 
he turned the congregation at Germantown over to his brother, the said 
John Bechtel, took his departure, and went to Philadelphia. 

Now the unthinking people allowed themselves to be led captive by Bech- 
tel. He promised in future to teach faithfully the Reformed doctrines by 
conforming to the Heidelberg catechism in every respect. With this under- 
standing they engaged him on the 27th of January, 1743, to be their 
minister for the term of one year, making a written contract. But scarce- 
ly a week elapsed before he requested the four chosen wardens of the con- 
gregation to subscribe to a letter omitting the 80th and the 114th ques- 
tions* from the Heidelberg Catechism. Asked why ? he replied : The 
80th question is not needed in this country, and the 114th (said he) Avas 
not true, because those who had become converted to God cease to commit 
sins, and can not only keep the commandments of God, but that it was 
very easy for them to do so. Whereupon the greater part of the congrega- 
tion became dissatisfied; but as they had made a written agreement they 
had to submit until the expiration of the year. In the course of the year 
a gallery was built in the church, and an organ was purchased for sixty 
pounds and placed in the gallery. At the end of the year which the con- 
tract covered, on the 27th of January, 1744, the membership again 
became masters and Bechtel was discharged, and he left the church; but 
for the expense of building the gallery and for the cost of the organ they 
are responsible, and the sums paid on account or contributed for the pur- 
pose they must restore. How this can be done I cannot figure out. 

But as these people are of steadfast disposition and can be relied 
upon, and with a view to bringing the congregation under the rules of the 
church, it was worth while to offer them a helping hand. But up to this 
time they have not made a request to come under our rules. 

*The 80th question is: What difference is there between the Lord's Sapper and 
the Popish mass ? The 114th question is: But can those that are converted to God 
perfectly keep these (the Ten) commands ? 



18 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



For when they had been released by Bechtel, and ahnost all the neig'h- 
boring Reformed people, from far and wide, came the Sunday thereafter 
(the most of the members of Whitemarsh being also present) to take 
counsel with each other as to placing the congregation in good condition, 
(William de Weese, the Whitemarsh elder, testifies to this) there was not 
a single member present who did not vote to call me to Germantown to 
become the regular minister there, in conjunction with the Whitemarsh 
congregation. But as one must be circumsi>ect when dealing with such 
people, it so happened, on the 20th February last (1744), when passing 
the house of a man named Meng at Germantown, I stopped to speak to 
him concerning these things. I informed him that I was very glad that 
the matter had finally been brought so far. And that if the people would 
come under the ordinances, and into Christian fellowship with the 
AYhitemarsh congreg-ation, whose regular minister of God's Word I was^ 
I was heartily willing to undertake to sen^e them. I desired a written 
declaration to this effect. Meng replied : That shall be done. But they 
have not done so. It appears one man who has arbitrary power is op- 
posed to coming under the ordinances. This member of the congregation 
upon his o^^^l responsibility, on the 11th of March, allowed a wandering 
minister, named Slotemaker, from Raritan, to preach in the church. And 
this was done without consulting the four elected elders. This informa- 
tion I have from one of them. 

This act I reg-ard as no better than was the taking of Bechtel. The 
more so because Bechtel on a Sunday in the latter part of the year of his 
service preached in the morning and announced that in the afternoon 
Slotemaker, who was then present, would preach. And this came to 
pass. From this one may judge that Bechtel and Slotemaker are of the 
same character and that they play into each other's hands. 

A word as to the severe comments in this communication. Bcehm^ 
its author, had been ordained to the ministry by the Reformed clergymen 
in New York by authority from Holland, and he had brought the Penn- 
sylvania congregations, as far as he was able to do so, under the rules 
governing the Holland Church. He looked to Amsterdam for inspiration 
in matters of doctrine and for guidance in matters of government. He 
had organized congregations in the various sections of the Province settled 
by Reformed colonis-ts. This was a difficult task, requiring many long 
journeys on horseback into the inland wilderness. His strong, rugged 
character was suited for this work in those rude times. He was a rigid 
observer of the letter of the law of the Church, and he insisted upon entire 
obedience from the congregations to that law. His combative disposition 
not unfrequently brought him into collision with individuals both of his 
own and of other denominations. The announcement of the Zinzendorfian 
movement was the signal for instant resistance from him. He saw in its 
success the probable disruption of the Pennsylvania Reformed church 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



19 



organizations. Accordingly he exhorted the membership to shun it. 
Such of them as disregarded his warnings, one of whom was Bechtel, he 
pursued with severest censure. He issued two pamphlets, couched in 
strong language, in opposition to the unity movement. His vigorous 
exertions saved the Reformed Church from disintegration. 

Bechtel was a man of quite different disposition. He was meek, 
averse to strife, obedient to the spirit rather than the letter of the law of 
the Church. He leaned to the Swiss view of Reformed Church doctrine. 
He did not make submission to the rules for church government prescribed 
by the Holland authorities; nor was he ever a beneficiary of Holland's 
largess. When Zinzendorf came upon the scene, Bechtel hastened to his 
stanc'ard. In the movement for unity of Christ's followers, he saw the 
realization of his heart's desire. Doctrine concerned him little. His 
main endeavor was to find the footsteps of the Redeemer that he might 
walk therein. When Boehm was inveighing in his pamphlets, Bechtel 
was calmly compiling a catechism. Bechtel' s work was limited to the 
Germantown congregation. He followed the trade of turner, and was in 
comfortable circumstances. In all probability he received no compensa- 
tion for his religious labors. If we read the character of the man aright, 
his sense of duty as a follower and lover of Jesus would have recoiled 
from acce^^ting pay for doing the Master's work. 

Let us not misjudge these two unlike men. Both are deserving of 
honor. Boehm stands forth as the zealous founder and preserver of the 
Reformed Church in Pennsylvania. Bechtel comes down to us as a guile- 
less teacher of the Word, who longed and prayed and worked for the 
salvation of men. 

And now let us turn to a few more items of interest touching the 
Market Square Church, gleaned from the manuscripts in the archives at 
Rotterdam and The Hague. A letter dated 14th July, 1744, from the 
members of the German Reformed congregation of Germantown, address- 
ed to the deputies of the S3aiods of South and North Holland, was 
signed by 

Niklaus Achs, Eltester Fridrich Lorentz 

Fritrich Gortner, Eltester Conrad Weydner 

Jacob Bauman Hanes Biiber 

Christoph Meng Henrich Bard 

George Bensel Johannes Von Sanden 

Daniel Kroninger Jacob Madori 

Jacob Kunff (?) Johann Georg-Riess 

Jacob Weidman Jacob Maag 

Bastian Miiller 
Adam Muller 

This letter was received and read at the Synod of South Holland, 
held at Gouda, July 6-16, 1745. 

In 1745, the Germantown congregation received some additions to its 



20 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



membership from a nearby source, as explained by a letter written by 
Rev. Mr. Boehm to the Holland supporters of the Pennsylvania churches. 
His words are: The Whitemarsh congregation, which at all times consist- 
ed of but few members, has, through the death of the aged, faithful elder, 
William Dewees, come to a standstill (because his house was at all times 
our church, but since his death it can be so no longer, nor is there oppor- 
tunity at hand to worship elsewhere, much less the means to build a 
church). The lower portion of the membership has gone to German- 
town, which will serve to strengthen that congregation somewhat. 

In 1746, Rev. Michael Schlatter, a Swiss Refomied minister, was 
sent by the Holland Synods to Pennsylvania to supervise the churches 
here. He assumed the pastorate of Philadelphia in connection with his 
duties as superintendent. He wrote letters from Philadelphia dated 
September 28, and October 3, 1746^ which were read at the meeting of 
the Synod of Sovith Holland held at Gorichem July 4-14, 1747, in which 
he stated that he had preached at Germantown, and that in this congrega- 
tion fifty-five men had subscribed the sum of £24 Pennsylvania money. 
He advised making one charge of the Philadelphia and Germantown 
churches, with one service in each every Sunday. The congTcgation was 
in good condition. When it was further canvassed, eig-hty-two male 
members, whose names are in the Holland archives, subscribed £34 
towards maintaining a pastor. A few of the principal subscribers were : 
Sebastian Miller, deacon, £1 5 0; Nicholas Rebein, £1; Nicol Rausch,, 
£1; Joh. Georg RieSy £1 ; Jac. Bauman, elder, £1; Paukis Geisel, £1; 
Christian Geisler, £1; Christoff Meng, elder, £1. 

In 1747, in pursuance of his mission to introduce order among the 
Reformed churches, Schlatter organized a Coetus, or Synod, subject to the 
Holland Church government. At the initial meeting of the Coetus, held 
in Philadelphia September 29, 1747, the Germantown congregation was 
represented by Michael Schlatter, V. D. M., and Christophel Meng- and 
Paulus Geisel, elders. At the second Coetus, a year later, Mr. Schlatter 
was still pastor of Germantown, in connection with the Philadelphia 
congregation. 

In 1752 a letter from Germantown congi-egation, dated 5th 9bris, and 
sent to Holland, was signed by these members: 

Christoph Meng Jacob Caiman 

Paul Geissel Sebastian Miiller 

Nicholas Rehbein Johan Conrat Schutz 

Johann Georg Ries Wilhelm Hoffman 

Johannes Zach arias Melcher Meng 

Henrich Schellenberg 

In the church books of the Race Street Refonned church is recorded 
a contract with Rev. William Stoy to preach for that congregation from 
July 1, 1756, to July 1, 1757, for a stipulated sum. There is in this 
instrmment a postscript as follows: 



THE CHURGH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



21 



P. S. Hierbey ist austriicklich vorbehalten das weilen Hr. Pfarr Stoy 
alien vierzehen Tag eine Predigt auf den Sontag in Germenton thun soil, 
der obstehende accord doch in alien Glaus ule (clauses ?) was das Salarium 
angehet veststehen und bleiben soli. 

P. S. It is expressly reserved that although Rev. Mr. Stoy is to 
preach a sermon on Sunday every fortnight, in Germantown, the fore- 
going agreement shall remain in force in all its clauses touching the 
salary. 

In 1762 the church was renovated and enlarged. The rear end was 
taken out and an addition built which doubled its former capacity. We 
hear in connection with this improvement of a steeple on the church. In 
this steeple, we are told by the late Townsend Ward, a faithful historian, 
hung the historic bell, cast in 1725, bearing the words: "Gott allein die 
Ehre" — to God alone the glory. 

In 1771 the congregation was chartered by the Proprietaries, under 
the name of ' 'The Minister, Trustees, Elders and Deacons of the German 
Reformed Gongregation in Germantown." The names mentioned in the 
articles of incorporation are: "Ghristian Frederick Fairing, the present, 
minister, Ghristopher Meng, Ulrich Zollinger, John Moore and John 
Bockeus, the present trustees; Jacob Weidman, John Unruh, John Dedier 
and Godfrey Bockius, the present elders; Peter Smith, George Walter, 
Jacob Hoffman and Jacob Ritter, the present deacons." These incor- 
porators are required to apply the income to the maintenance and support 
of the ministers and officers of the said congregation, and their church- 
yards or burying grounds, and other houses which do now or hereafter 
shall belong to the said congregation, and for erecting a parsonage and 
supporting one church more and a school house in said town. ' ' 

May 10, 1794, Ghristopher Ottinger, on belialf of the congregation, 
bought two and a quarter acres, fronting on Germantown road. 

This ancient church has played a patriotic part in our national his- 
tor}^ Mr. Ward, already quoted, says: "In the battle of Germantown a 
battalion of Virginians, under Golonel Matthews, having been taken pris- 
oners, were lodged in the church." Watson says: "The church was 
where, during the fever of 1793, Washington regularly worshipped, as 
often as there was English preaching, a service performed occasionally by 
Dr. Smith, from the Falls of Schuylkill." 

A succession of distinguished divines — at least seventeen in number 
— proclaimed the Gospel of Ghrist from the Market Square pulpit, during 
the hundred years from the coming of Schlatter in 1746 to the pastorate 
of Rev. Jacob Helfenstein. This is the honored roll: Michael Schlatter, 
Gonrad Steiner, William Stoy, John George Alsentz, F. G. Faber, G. 
Frederick Foering, J. G. Albertus Helffenstein, Samuel Debendorff, J. G. 
Albertus Helffenstein, a second time; Frederick Herman, William Runkel, 



22 



THE CHURCH AT MARKET SQUARE. 



Charles Helffenstein, Frederick van der Sloot, Casper Wack, John H. 
Smaltz Albert Helffenstein, Jr. , Truman Osborn, Jacob Helfenstem. 

During the pastorate of Reverend Jacob Helfenstein a radical change 
took place; the congregation's old affiliations ceased, and the church took 
a new departure. Mr. Helfenstein dissented from certain phases of the 
doctrines taught in the Theological Seminary of the Reformed Church. 
On the 27th of March, 1853, he preached a sermon, entitled A Perverted 
Gospel, which was a forceful presentation of some of the points at issue. 
By degrees the ties which bound Market Square church to the Reformed 
Synod weakened more and more. The congregation sympathized with 
their pastor. The statistics of the Classis of Philadelphia of the Reformed 
Church show that in 1 850 the congregation had a communicant member- 
ship of 425 and two Sabbath schools. In 1853, 445 communicant mem- 
bers were reported. The two succeeding years, 1854 and 1855, no report 
was made. In 1856 the name of the Germantown church and of its 
Pastor, Helfenstein, disappeared from the records of the Reformed Church. 
A union was effected about this time between this congregation and the 
Presbyterian Church, which continues to the present time. 

This is the history in brief of the Reformed Church of Germantown. 
It is, in other words, the story of the genesis of the Market Square Pres- 
byterian congregation. The career of the old church has been marked, as 
we have seen, by sharp contentions, heroic labors, disheartening failures, 
blessed triumphs. Could the worthies of the former times be with us this 
day, they would with one accord give thanks to the Almighty for the out- 
come of their unsuccessful and successful efforts. For be it ever borne in 
remembrance, what they did, one and all, whether in hot controversy or 
in gentle ministration, was done in the firm faith of its righteousness and 
was meant for the glory of God. Their work has yielded a noble fruitage. 

What marvelous changes Time has wrought ! Look around. The 
prosaic market square of the olden time, once the site of the prison, the 
stocks and the pound, is now dedicated to patriotism and art, crowned by 
an ornate monument to the memory of the valorous great-great-great- 
grandsons of the primitive settlers. Where stood the humble meeting 
house of 1 733, albeit of stone and fine for its day, this spacious temple of 
worship, replete with modern appointments, now rears its beauteous 
front, a striking example of present-day ecclesiastical architecture. 



4 



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